


Attraction of the Soul

by SkyLeaf



Series: Sparks of Emotion [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Amortentia, Denial of Feelings, F/F, Hufflepuff Mipha, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Ravenclaw Zelda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:13:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24739813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyLeaf/pseuds/SkyLeaf
Summary: Despite the disappointment she would no doubt face from her father if she were to make a mistake in the process of brewing Amortentia, when Zelda looked over at Mipha, the chance that they might succeed felt immeasurably more frightening to her.
Relationships: Mipha/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Sparks of Emotion [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676719
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Attraction of the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Because I am not done with my love for writing about Mipha and Zelda attending Hogwarts!

With how every sixth year student from both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were all huddling around Professor Marie’s desk, trying to follow along as she wrote the instructions for the potion they would attempt to make in only a few minutes onto the blackboard, the letters almost seeming to blur together in the warmth that had slowly seeped into the castle during the day, reaching every single nook and cranny and making the dungeons uncomfortable hot, Zelda found that she simply was not able to remain focused for more than a few seconds before her mind would inevitably leave the room and the shoves from her classmates behind.

Perhaps it would have been easier for her to remain focused if the potion class had not been the last class of the day, making it so that by the time she had finally been able to enter what she thought would be the only somewhat cold classroom in the entire school, Zelda had not only already been given two assignments already along with a mountain of homework, but also received the unpleasant and unwelcome surprise of walking into the classroom, only for it too feel like she had walked directly into a wall of warmth as she stepped over the threshold, the lack of the tall windows that seemed to decorate the walls in almost every other classroom making it so that the room only grew warmer the longer they stayed in there.

Truthfully, right in that moment, Zelda was certain that had it not been for Mipha standing next to her, somehow able to give off the impression that she was not bothered by the warmth as she followed the chalk’s path over the blackboard, she might have chosen to ignore the way she knew her father would be disappointed with her for even considering the idea of cutting classes. Leaving the classroom, possibly to head back to the library to get the chance to find a moment where she could continue with her studies without any other students running around, their hushed conversations between the bookshelves making it difficult for her to focus, it all seemed like such an inviting idea.

But as Mipha reached out, gripping her arm as Professor Marie turned around again to gesture towards a cauldron, not even the suffocating warmth around them was enough to keep Zelda from smiling.

“So,” Professor Marie said, planting her hand onto the table, glancing towards the back of the crowd where a Hufflepuff had tripped in their eagerness at being able to shove past the students in front of them, narrowly avoiding hitting the floor when their friend had caught them, “now, I don’t want to see any of you not handling this task with the care it requires. While the idea of a love potion might seem harmless to some of you, know that love, or at least the kind of obsessive infatuation that this potion can cause, is one of the strongest powers in the universe. This is why I will tell you right now that I will not hesitate to take away points from anyone who gets the idea to attempt to smuggle some of it out of this classroom, no matter how tiny the vial they use might be. Do you understand?” when no one did anything, neither denying nor confirming, Marie seemed to interpret it as a yes, for her stern expression was soon replaced with her usual smile as she waved at them, signalling that they could go back to their own tables. “In that case, I will be looking forward to seeing how your attempts at making this will turn out. And also—try not to be too hard on yourself if it does not work. This potion requires precision and excellent timing, so while I do of course expect for you to try your best, I will not be disappointed if you find yourself unable to make the real potion.”

As they headed back towards the far end of the classroom, deliberately choosing the table placed closest to the door in the hope that it might help in their fight against the heavy warmth, Zelda leant in towards Mipha, making sure to whisper to not let those around them hear her. “We are going to succeed, aren’t we? This potion—we can figure it out together, right?”

“Of course.” taking her hand underneath the table, Mipha smiled at her. “With you as my partner I know that this will be just fine. But,” standing up a bit straighter, Mipha nodded towards the students supply cupboard, where they could see how the rest of the class was already busy trying to find the ingredients for the potion, Marin struggling to carry it all at once, a few bottles coming dangerously close to rolling off the top of the pile, only for Ilia to appear at her side at the last moment, taking it from her with a little laugh, “if we want to do that, we should probably get started now, should we not?”

“We should,” Zelda agreed. Placing her book down on the table, pausing for a moment to make sure that she was on the right page, she headed over towards the supply cupboard with the rest of the class.

It was a jumble of shoves and the occasional hushed apology when someone stepped on her foot. Had it not been for how Marie had told them to work in pairs, making it so that Zelda would not only let down herself if she failed, but Mipha as well, she was sure that that—the crowd around her, a couple of impatient orders for her to hurry up, making Zelda’s movements grow slightly more panicked, rushed—would have been enough to make her unable to stay. Right then, the library and the silence it would have provided felt like a much better alternative to the warmth that had been trapped in the dungeons and the idea of having to make a love elixir. However, in the end, Zelda somehow managed to find the correct ingredients, returning to their table to place it down in front of her.

Picking up a vial, her gaze flickering between the contents of it, the instructions written on the blackboard, and their book, Mipha nodded to herself once before opening it. “I think we are supposed to pour this in to begin with,” she said, pausing for a moment to look over at Zelda.

It took a moment too long for her to realise how Mipha was waiting for her to confirm or deny it, and by the time Zelda had finally been able to gather her thoughts enough for her to nod, the suspicion that it was not only the way the sun had trapped the air inside the castle that was making her face feel uncomfortably warm anymore was not one she could ignore.

The fact that Mipha did not appear to have arrived at the same realisation, how it seemed like she might not even have noticed it, did not make Zelda feel much better, but, deciding that she was already uncomfortable and that she did not want to have to ponder the question of just what exactly it meant, she shoved the thought away from her mind, instead nodding at her as Mipha continued, “so if you stir, then I will pour it in.”

And that was what they did. Stirring slowly, making sure to go anti-clockwise twice before letting the ladle finish one round clockwise, Zelda watched as Mipha emptied the contents of the vial into the cauldron, the slightly shimmering surface of the potion turning white after only a few minutes. Little by little, they continued adding the rest of the ingredients, Mipha taking the time to hum excitedly each time the potion changed colour and consistency according to the instructions they could find in both the book as well as on the blackboard above the teacher’s desk.

Around her, although Zelda tried her best to remain focused on their own half-finished potion, she could see how the rest of the class was making progress as well, the pair at the table next to them having already added the last ingredients, now crouching down next to their cauldron to watch it simmer. However, when Zelda looked across the room, she could see how there were also examples of the opposite outcome, Professor Marie having to hurry from the student she had just been talking with to instead try to save a fellow Ravenclaw—one of the girls from the other dormitory, Irene, Zelda remembered—from her potion after she had seemingly somehow managed to add an ingredient that had allowed it to take physical form, purple steam rising up, forming arms that grasped at the hem of her cape, making Irene’s eyes go wide as she stepped back, putting as much distance between herself and the cauldron as the wall behind her allowed her to.

Discreetly gesturing towards how their professor made the hand disappear in a cloud of green smoke with a flick of her wand, Zelda made sure to hide how her voice would surely have trembled had it not been for how hard she fought to keep it under control as she turned to look at Mipha again. “We are not going to create _that_ thing, are we?” she asked, not completely able to mask the hint of fear even she could hear creep into her voice.

Mipha looked up from her chopping board, lifting the dagger from where she had otherwise been in the middle of using the flat side of it to crush the shimmering pearls. “No,” she said, and then, stepping towards her, her arm brushing against Zelda’s, she added, “but if it should happen to us as well, then don’t worry—I am pretty sure I am strong enough to push you out of harm’s way before it would even have got the chance to touch you.”

It was not really what Zelda had meant, but when she opened her mouth to correct her, to let Mipha know that she had not really been worried about herself when she had tried to imagine what might happen if they were to somehow summon the same kind of incorporeal hand, she found that the words stuck to the sides of her throat. No matter how many times she tried to attempt to find the words that would be needed if she wanted to let Mipha understand that, really, until she had offered to push her to safety, Zelda had barely even given the fact that if they somehow found themselves in the same situation as Irene had been in she might be in danger as well a thought, Zelda could not make herself say anything.

So, rather than continuing to try—and with how a strange feeling was spreading through her stomach, Zelda was certain that it would only have led to embarrassment if she had—Zelda redirected her attention to the task they had been given, hoping that it would help her forget about the way she could hear a voice whispering in the back of her head, telling her that there was something she was not seeing, something important she had missed.

It did not really make her forget, the sensation of something making it feel like a handful of butterflies had escaped, somehow finding their way into her stomach having appeared so suddenly that Zelda doubted anything would have allowed her to ignore it, but at least it provided her with a welcome distraction, making it so that Zelda could almost make herself forget about both the warmth from the sun as well as how she could feel her face growing warmer as well. At least that was one good thing about having a potion class at the end of the day during the warmest week of summer—she could blame that on the lack of fresh air.

“And now,” Mipha said, holding the crushed dust of the pearls up above the cauldron, not letting go of it until she had seen Zelda look up at her, shooting her a tiny grin in response to the exasperated look Zelda sent her, not able to completely hide how she had not truly managed to annoy her, “once I add this and we have let it simmer for a couple of minutes, the potion should be finished—or at least it will be if we have not made any mistakes along the way.”

“Well,” Zelda stopped stirring for a moment, using her hand to signal for Mipha to let the crushed pearls wait for a second as she glanced back towards the blackboard, “so far, I think we have followed the instructions to the letter, so I can’t see why the potion would not be perfect.”

From how Mipha raised an eyebrow, Zelda could see that Mipha had noticed the slightly anxious tone that had found its way into her voice, the way she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly letting her know that Mipha had heard the true meaning of the attempt at assuring her that the potion was fine, how it had really been meant more for Zelda herself than for her. But, thankfully, after only a second, Mipha seemed to decide that it would be better for her not to comment on it, and while part of her could not help but send out a little pang of pain, for the most part, Zelda was relieved that they did not need to discuss the issue of her father right there in the crowded classroom.

“Sure, sure,” Mipha said, “technically, the potion should be perfect, but you know just as well as I do that unexpected things can happen.”

Zelda was not late to use the invitation for the little jab at Mipha’s last attempt at making a potion. “You mean like that one time where you tried to make the Draught of Living Death?”

“Hush!” Mipha laughed at her, pointing at her with one of the several empty vials that formed a queue towards the front of their desk. “I am telling you, I don’t know what was wrong with those Sopophorous beans, but it was not my fault that it ended the way it did!”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Zelda said, making sure to infuse her voice with just the tiniest hint of a laugh, already recalling the way even Professor Marie had seemed surprised that they had been able to make such a mistake, “I know that it was not your fault.”

“Exactly! It was not my fault.”

But even as she tried to remain serious, Mipha was not able to hide the little smile as she once more turned to look at the cauldron, gesturing towards the content of it, the almost transparent content of it slowly nearing the shade where they would be able to add the last ingredient, and Zelda could understand why. Even when it had happened, although part of her could still feel how her stomach had sunk to the ground, already imagining what her father would have said if he would ever hear about it, Zelda would have lied if she tried to deny that she had not found it quite amusing to see the look of confusion Mipha had sent their potion when it had evaporated in an instant, leaving only an almost rock-like object behind, the thing hitting the bottom of the cauldron with a loud clang that echoed through the room.

Finally, the colour of the potion changed, and, after looking over at Zelda to allow her to confirm what she could see Mipha already knew with a nod, Mipha let go of the dust, allowing it to cover the surface of the potion with its slightly shimmery powder. Pulling the chair in under her, she sat down and nudged Zelda with her elbow, pointing towards the cauldron. “Ta-da,” she sang, “now we just have to wait for it to simmer.”

And that was what they did. The potion having finally reached the stage where she did not have to stir, carefully counting each rotation to make sure she would not accidentally mess up the order of clockwise and anti-clockwise, Zelda lifted the ladle, placed it back down on the table after having made sure that there were no drops of elixir still left on it, and sank down into the chair next to Mipha.

Around them, the panicked whispers of those who had realised too late how they had messed up the order of the ingredients or had completed a third anti-clockwise turn slowly came to an end as the rest of their classmates reached the same step as them, and despite how the warmth still filled the room, wrapped around them like an endless layer of blankets, as she sat there next to Mipha, Zelda felt almost at ease, content to simply be able to look at Mipha and see how she hummed slightly as they waited for the potion to finish brewing, hoping for the mother-of-pearl sheen to appear to let them know how they had succeeded.

“What do you think it will smell like?” Mipha said, breaking the silence between them. From the way she leant over towards her, her voice dropping to a whisper, Zelda knew that she did not want for the two students from Hufflepuff who were still in the process of adding the pearl dust at the table next to theirs to be able to overhear their conversation.

That was the question that Zelda had done her best not to let her mind become too preoccupied with during the class. If she was honest, she was not sure she wanted to know the answer. The potion, it was meant to emit a smell that would remind those standing around it of what they found the most attractive, a quality that might have seemed appealing to some. But while she could perhaps admit that it did seem tempting to get the chance to know exactly what she found to be the most attractive scent in the world, to Zelda, the idea of having to realise that while surrounded by half of her year felt nightmarish. Really, it was a wonder that they were all there, not even a single one of her classmates having decided that they did not want to be present for the class.

But still, she managed to shrug, hoping that she had made the gesture appear nonchalant enough for Mipha to believe that, to not notice how Zelda could not make herself look at her. “I don’t know. I suppose it will probably smell like old books or something like that.”

“Because of the library?”

“Because of the library,” Zelda confirmed.

Mipha giggled, keeping her voice low so that Marie, who was currently looking quite busy with her attempt at helping another pair standing towards the other end of the classroom, would not be able to hear her. “Zelda,” she said, shaking her head, “we really need to get you another hobby. You can’t just continue going to the library all the time—people are going to think you don’t want to interact with them.”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind it if people think that,” Zelda said, “I don’t really want to talk with them either. Besides,” she paused for a moment to instead look down into the cauldron where the potion had assumed a silvery colour that was not entirely unlike what they were waiting for, “since you usually accompany me to the library, it is not like I am completely alone, so, really, even when I go to the library, I am still pretty social.”

“That doesn’t count.”

Raising a brow, Zelda looked over at Mipha. “And why is that?”

“I am your best friend, just to mention one thing,” Mipha began, though the smile that touched her lips gave away how she did not really mean any of it, “so of course I am going to go with you to make sure that you are not alone.”

Heart beating a soft rhythm against her ribcage, Zelda pushed the sudden surge of protectiveness aside to instead shake her head at her. “Perhaps, but it still counts,” Zelda decided.

By then, the steam the potion emitted interrupted them, the spiralling twirls it formed confirming what Zelda had already known a fraction of a second before then: that the potion was finished.

At once appearing both hesitant and eager to move closer towards it, Mipha stood up, the motion making her chair slide backwards over the floor, the sound of wood moving across stone sounding incredibly loud in the otherwise almost silent dungeon. However, it did not appear that Mipha noticed any of that as she nodded towards the shimmering surface. “So…” she said, her hand already reaching for an empty vial, “we should probably pour some of this into a flacon so that we can leave this horrid warmth.”

“Yeah,” Zelda breathed. But despite how they had both just agreed to do the opposite, rather than reaching for anything to use to get the potion into the vial, they both leant in over the cauldron.

Immediately, Zelda could feel how the potion was slightly warmer than the rest of the room, but while the steam that hit her face should by all means have made the feelings of discomfort increase, it had the exact opposite effect, instead feeling more like a nice, summery breeze against her skin.

That was when she noticed the layers and traces hidden in the scent, some of them being so overwhelming, close to the surface, that she could not possibly have missed it, while others were hidden, buried beneath the stronger smells. Something warm, something that smelt almost like a lake, the familiar scent of old books and the promise they held of allowing her to leave the library with more knowledge than she had possessed when she had first entered. Closing her eyes, Zelda allowed her senses to reach out, finding little, hidden traces in the corners of the story the steam carried with it. Candles, the slightly burnt odour allowing her to picture how the candles in the Great Hall had reduced her to a state of silent awe the first time she had entered the room, how she had sat with Mipha at the Hufflepuff table every time they had got the chance to ignore the houses, passing the plates to one another while talking and laughing about nothing and everything. And there, hidden behind the almost overwhelming amount of impressions, Zelda could detect a hint of a fragrance she was already intimately familiar with.

It was the way that she suddenly became aware of just where she had noticed the familiar scent before that brought Zelda back to the moment, to the warm and crowded classroom. She opened her eyes, barely able to hide how she had jerked at the realisation. A single glance over at Mipha told her that she had thankfully not noticed it.

By the time Mipha leant back again, a blissful expression making her look almost like they had not spent the last hour in the suffocating warmth of the dungeon, Zelda had somehow managed to plaster a smile onto her face.

“What did you smell?” Zelda asked, careful not to allow her voice to reveal her emotions.

But it seemed that there had been no need for her to worry about that as Mipha seemed so preoccupied with her own experience of the potion that Zelda doubted she would have noticed it if the rest of the world had disappeared in that very moment.

Placing a hand above her heart, Mipha let out a soft sigh. “I—there were so many things, so many sensations all at once. I believe I managed to recognise something warm and sweet, almost like chocolate, but still having this distinct touch of something else. I just couldn’t figure out what it was. Perhaps it was some kind of drink—no!” Mipha gripped her arm, the gesture bringing her face only a hand’s breadth away from Zelda’s. “I think that was hot cocoa. Yes, it definitely was. Other than that, I think I detected a hint of something old. Actually,” Mipha grinned at her when she continued, “I think that it might have been the smell of old books, so, congratulations, Zelda, it would appear that you have managed to infect me with your inexplicable love for ancient books!”

Zelda laughed, but it felt fake, forced. “Oh, you know you love going to the library with me!”

“Yeah,” Mipha said, though the slightly hesitant tone in her voice said something else entirely, “I suppose I do.”

Something in Zelda’s chest tightened, and, trying her best to make the strange feeling that had seeped into the air between them, appearing even more suffocating than the warmth, disappear, Zelda let her hand brush against Mipha’s arm, pretending that she did not notice how the touch made Mipha blink and shake her head slightly. “Well, what else did you smell?” the question was low, lower than what Zelda had intended, but even then, there was no doubt about the fact that Mipha had heard it.

“Uh, other than that…” Mipha glanced back towards the cauldron, and Zelda could see how she swallowed before continuing, “other than that, I wasn’t able to recognise anything. But, hey, at least now you know that I am lying the next time I try to tell you that I don’t like going to the library!”

Laughing along with her, Zelda tried her best not to examine the feeling in her stomach, choosing not to wonder whether she was relieved or disappointed that Mipha had not asked when the potion had smelt like to her. It was better that way; it would allow them to leave the classroom as the exact same people they had been when they had first entered.

But, as they began cleaning up around them, Mipha quickly filling the vial with the Amortentia, their result earning them an impressed nod from Marie when Mipha placed it on her desk, the two of them walking around each other, the dance of at once wanting to stay close to Mipha while still not daring to be so close to her that she might have been able to reach out and close the distance between them being so unfamiliar to Zelda that she did not know what to feel about it, she could not help but ponder the question of just what might have happened if she had simply reached out, placing her hand on top of Mipha’s the way they had done a thousand times in the past. However, even though part of her screamed at her to simply give in, Zelda kept her distance, opting to go to the library rather than to return to the Ravenclaw common room.

For once, Mipha did not offer to accompany her there, and since she left the classroom with an expression on her face that showed how the thoughts and questions were swirling through her mind as well, Zelda did not ask her to come.

It was easier that way. They could remain the same people they had been for those last six years, just two best friends. Yes, it was the easiest option.

Maybe that was why Zelda felt like a coward as she entered the library, grabbing a book to shield herself from the world. And perhaps that was why she tried her best not to think about it, to focus on nothing but the information on potions—the word ‘Amortentia’ feeling almost like it wanted to burn an impression of itself onto her eyelids. After all, she was not a Gryffindor.

**Author's Note:**

> And that concludes this writer's love for writing characters who do not dare to do what they really want to do.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this! If you want to find me, I am [theseventhsage](https://theseventhsage.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr.


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